last_kallig | OOM: AU Child! Ibani

OOM: AU Child! Ibani

The last few months have been even harder than usual, after the death of her mother figure. Perhaps grief made her weaker, more vulnerable to sickness, because she knows she's dangerously ill. She hadn't meant to wind up here, wherever here is, but it has shown up in the nick of time.

Ibani shivers against one of the walls of Milliways, her body wracked with fever and hunger both. She's somewhere between seven and ten, clothed in fabric with far too many holes in it, and wearing a slave shock collar around her neck. Her bones stand out too sharply against her skin, and her eyes are fever bright and darting around the room.

She's not sure if this is some dying hallucination, if she's gone mad, or if she truly HAS wound up somewhere utterly strange. Whatever this is, instinct and her body DEMAND food, fuel to fight the sickness that is killing her. Untrained in the Force, she's grasping on instinct for any energy it can give her.

Maybe, maybe if she gets close enough to one of the tables she can steal some food without anyone noticing. Yes, yes that's a good plan

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The gravity of the entire situation hits him a little harder when she wraps her arms around him, and part of him realizes just how difficult this 'uphill' climb will be. But he is still up for the challenge, even if there will be moments like this one now.

"It hurts my heart," he says softly. "That you have never experienced getting to see the sky, that you were kept underground. But...that is not your fault. We can, we will fix that. And we will both heal, together."

"Yes, together," she agrees. Eventually, she lets go of him. "How do we clean up breakfast?"

Someone wants to see the sky!

Briefly, he is amazed at the resiliency of her spirit - and then as she lets go of him, he nods and straightens his posture, moving to stand up.

"We will take these dishes to the sink," he says, as he picks up the plates. While typically he would throw the leftovers into the trash (or honestly, leave them on the plates in the sink if he knows the Loompas will come through) he does not want to do that in front of her. "I have plenty of takeout containers we can put the extra in - they are in that cabinet, there," he points. "Bottom shelf. Clear with a lid."

Someone might have a small hoard of plastic Chinese takeaway boxes tucked away for 'just in case'.

"That's a good idea," she chirps. She walks over to the cabinet, grabs more containers than they probably need, and brings them all back over to Skellig.

There are definitely more containers than they need, but the rest go back into the cabinet after he has boxed up all of the leftover breakfast and put it in the fridge for safekeeping. The dishes go into the sink; he rinses them quickly but doesn't wash them outright.

"Bar sent up some other clothes for you to wear with us last night. Those pajamas you've got on now - those are for sleeping in. These," he fetches the folded bundle. "You may find more comfortable for exploring in?"

The cut and style will be similar to clothes of 'her' world, even if she has never really known anything more than rags and hand-me-downs.

"Since you have never been outside, it will be bright," he adds. "We will stop by the Bar on the way outside and I will have her get you some glasses, to protect your eyes."

He will give her privacy to change, and eventually change himself as well, switching from his own pajamas back into a clean shirt and some jeans. He does not bother with shoes, or his coat.

Edited 2024-07-22 22:38 (UTC)

Ibani is vastly pleased with the purple shirt and pants Bar gave her, especially when she sees the red wings printed on the back. (They're starbird wings, a very old symbol of the Force, not that Ibani knows that.)

"Skellig, look, I have wings!" she says excitedly, spinning around to show off her shirt.

"They are very good wings - I would bet those ones would make you fast!"

With the clean clothes, getting several baths, and the upbeat energy after her healing last night (and breakfast this morning) she is looking much better to his eyes already. Yes, she is still skinny, terribly so. But that he cannot fix with just the effort of his energy.

Once they are at the bar downstairs, he stops at the counter - it is taller than her - and reaches down to pick her up, to set her on a stool. "I'll show you how it works, with her. If you need or want something, you just ask. Do you want to try? You will need some 'sunglasses', for outside."

Ibani nods. "Hello, Bar. I would like some sunglasses, please."

A pair of sunglasses appears, just the right size and shape for her head and face.

"Thank you," she says as she picks the item up, turns it around and unfolds it. It's not TOO hard to figure out how they must go on. "Like this?"

"Yep, perfect."

He offers her his hand once he's gotten her down from the stool - there are not a lot of people moving about this morning, since it's 'early-ish' by "bar time" - and while he is pretty sure that she would not have any problem navigating through the light crowd, part of him does not want to lose her.

"They will be too dark in here, so I would take them off for now - and then when we get to the back door, we will put them on. I have some too, in my pocket."

She nods, takes the sunglasses off, then takes his hand. She's a mix of excitement and nerves right now as they make their way to the back door.

Once they reach the door, she puts the sunglasses on, to prepare for whatever might be out there.

Skellig slips his own on - it shouldn't be that bright out, as it is still early. But at least he knows the sun IS out, given the light that was streaming in from the balcony curtain; faux!Scotland is cooperating today, perhaps because it knows this morning is going to be special?

What greets her first is the back porch - it is not huge, and then once they are across that, the grass is shorter right off the steps, clearly from foot travel. The sky is mostly-clear with some patchy clouds, the sun is shining, and there is a light breeze that rustles trees on the far side of the lake. And the lake, too. The greenhouses, and the stables - maybe there is a horse or two out to graze in the paddock? They might have to investigate that. And he wants to show her the beach...

But first, he will step a few steps out of the way of the path, and simply crouch down as he watches her, allowing her space to let her take it all in.

"Oh," she exhales, a mix of joy, awe, and wonder. "There's, there's so MUCH." She shuts her eyes, grabs for his hand. "So much Life, it's LOUD." She can feel every insect, every plant, every living thing out here, feel the Life Web inside her skin, echoing in her bones.

It takes a few breaths to figure out, solidify, the boundaries of where she ends and everything else begins. She opens her eyes again, looks up at endless blue, and laughs in delight.

Skellig allows her to take his hand as he watches her 'settle', and he is also listening to her energy - to him it is almost as if she is spreading out and reaching as far as she possibly can to map and trace thousands of tiny trails that are spread throughout the space.

Interesting.

It is similar to his own 'listening' but at the same time, completely different...

"Can you hear all of it?" He asks gently, curious.

She nods. "Everything, everything alive. Had to...push their energy away, to be able to think."

"It's not just hearing, it's all my senses. Got tangled in the threads."

"Take your time to let it settle," he says gently. "When I first came here, once I was feeling better...I also thought it was very loud. And not just because I can hear better, because of how I am. I have had to learn how to filter through some of it, otherwise it can become too much sometimes."

He keeps hold of her hand.

"I find it quieter the further I walk away from the bar. When you are ready, we can walk a bit, look at things?"

She nods. "I think I'm ready."

One of the horses in the pasture has come over to the fence, knowing that people often mean food and/or skritches.

"I don't recognize any of these creatures," she admits to Skellig.

"This is a horse," Skellig says as they walk closer. "They can be used to carry things, or people. Sometimes you will see their owners here ride them, but a lot of these ones just stay here and are looked after."

He demonstrates how to hold his hand out flat.

"I did not bring any treats to give them - they like carrots," he says. "And peppermint candies, though they cannot have too many of those."

The horse nearest them that is snuffling at Ibani's hand exhales a snort when Skellig says that they cannot have an unlimited supply of peppermints. Clearly that is blasphemy!

Ibani laughs when it snuffles at her hand. "Hello, horse," she says quietly. The horse's ears flick forward listening. "You are very big."

She tilts her head, moves her hand to scratch under the horse's chin. "They are itchy, right here," she explains to Skellig. The horse seems to be enjoying the attention.

"A lot of the time, creatures like this won't let me near them - at least not in my home world. But here at Milliways, I think...they are used to different energies, and they are not as worried."

Another horse wanders over after noticing that his friend is getting plenty of skritches, and leans down to nudge at Skellig's hands. Clearly there must be SOME treats hidden here, right?

"We will bring you snacks next time," Skellig promises, reaching to scratch under this horse's chin in the manner Ibani is doing to 'her' horse.

"They are afraid of predators," she says softly. "Built to run away, but they have learned the energy does not always mean danger, here."

Ibani tilts her head, considers. "I think I could help them not be afraid of you, in your world. Fear is sharp, spiked, but I can coax it into being something else."

Nodding, he files that detail - coax it into being something else - away for discussion later...

"I know my energy is...complicated." He admits. "Here I am more relaxed versus when I am on my home world, so I feel as if it is easier to deal with."

"Could be," Ibani admits. "But I won't be afraid of you, there." She flushes. "If, if I'm allowed to go?"

Does he WANT her to see what his world, his life, is like outside of Milliways?

Last night while lying in bed with her curled up against his chest, Skellig had contemplated that very question. Initially his answer was an immediate, firm no - he would not dare expose her to the world outside his Door, what he has to deal with.

But the more he has thought about it...he realizes that there is no chance that he would risk leaving her in Milliways alone, and his Door deciding to go rogue and disappear on him, leaving them separated. Also, if she has survived this long in conditions that are even worse than what he has to endure...they could probably manage well enough.

"I would not leave you behind," he says.

She's visibly relieved when he says he won't leave her behind. "Thank you. I will, I will have a LOT to learn."

The thought of just HOW MUCH is overwhelming for a moment.

"We will both have a lot to learn," he agrees. "We will have to help each other, but I have a feeling we will do just fine with that."

Then he smiles. "But it will be worth it, I know it."

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